Valve cap

ABSTRACT

A valve cap for releasably covering the outlet of a drain valve draincock having a cup-shaped body covering the draincock aperture and integral fingers adapted to secure the cap releasably to the drain valve.

United States Patent AppL-No.

Inventor Irvin D. Jacobson Painesville, Ohio 723,405 Apr. 23, Jan. 5, 1

Filed Patented Assignee Perfection Corporation Madison, Ohio a corporation of Ohio VALVE CAP 6 Claims, 5 Drawing US. Cl.

Figs.

m. or .1: Fl6k 27/08 o t as III [50] Field ofSearch 137/560, 380, 381, 382; 251/351; 138/89, 89.4, 90, 94, 96; 4/295 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 969,776 9/1910 Foley l38/89X 2,768,766 10/1956 Woebbeking 137/381 Primary Examiner-M. Cary Nelson Assistant Examiner-R. B. Rothman Attorney-Fay, Sharpe & Mulholland ABSTRACT: A valve cap for releasably covering the outlet of a drain valve draincock having a cup-shaped body covering the draincock aperture and integral fingers adapted to secure the cap releasably to the drain valve.

PATENTEB JAN 51911 Q 35521427 INVEN IRVIN D. JACOB N VQW M M ATTORNEYS.

upon attempted removal.

VALVE CAP. BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION This invention is concerned with a drain valve cap for use on a draincock of a liquid containing reservoir, in particular, a hot water heaten' Many drain valves in common use on hot water heaters and the like are generally similar in construction to the drain valve described in US, Pat. No. 3,181,555. The drain valve of this type is adapted to be threadedly received on a tubular drain member'extending outwardly from the heater and generally located near the base thereof. The portion of the drain valve with which this invention is particularly concerned includes a dependingexterior hollow annular member (draincock) with webbing extending radially and outwardly therefromThis webbing can be of any desired shape and will usually form an integral handle portion by which the valve can be actuated to and from the opened-closed positions.

' Accidental or inadvertent opening of a hot water heater drain valve may cause'hot water in the heater tank to spew out of the draincock with potential scalding or other injury to the person actuating the valve. To prevent'or lessen the chances of such injuries, various valve caps have been proposed. Such caps generally have been releasablyzsecured to the draincock in order to cover the aperture of same and thereby prevent or divert draining hot waterfrom contacting the person actuating the valve. A majority of these prior art caps, however, are threadedly receivedon the annularrnemb'er or draincock of the valve and therefore require and unscrewing operation for removal. This construction, of course, does'not provide for draining and diversion-of the contentsof the tank with the cap in place; in addition, a plastic cap .may, due to extreme temperature fluctuations, bind to the draincock and cause countless problems and/or damage to eitherthe draincockor cap The above-described'problems are considerably lessened and ofien solved by a valve cap as defined by the present inventionfl'his invention provides a safety cap which (1) when secured in place will allow drainage of the heater tank contents through the drain valve and yet prevent injury to the actuator thereof; (2) if desired, can easily be removed prior to opening of the drain valve; and (3).utilizes a construction which allows the experienced actuator to easily remove the cap but presents considerable difficulty to 'the adventurous child or infant.

SUMMARY or THE INVENTION The valve cap of this invention comprises a cup-shaped body having an end wall from which a sidewall transversely extends. At least two spaced-apart fingers originate at and are in-v tegral with the end wall. These fingers extend transversely from the end wall in a plane either parallel or coaxial with the sidewall and terminate opposite the end wall at latch means consisting of upturned flanges. Each finger is permitted movement in a plane' at generally right angles to the plane of the sidewall by means of pivots integral with the inner surface of each finger and the outer surface of the sidewall. Since it is generally preferable to have the outer surface of the fingers flush with or in the same plane as the sidewalls, a generally U- shaped notch may be placed in the perimeter of the sidewall at the location of each finger. Utilizing such a notched construc- 'tion, the pivots would be integral with the outer surface of the innermost section of the notch and the inner surface of the finger. a

The pivots provide for lateral movement of the fingers and the fingers is then placed into a respective slot on the webbing with the upturned flanges or latch means firmly grasping the edge of or a bead on the underside of the webbing.

complementing the grip or holding power of the flanges are integral resilient tabs located on the inner surface of the end wall. These tabs extend transversely from the inner surface of the end wall, preferably at approximately a angle. The tabs are. positioned so that upon placement of the valve cap over the draincock of the drain valve each tab will rest on the outermost edge of the draincock defining the draincock aperture and prevent the latch means from being properly inserted in the webbing slots. Therefore, in order to properly place the flanges or latch means in the slots, it is necessary that sufficient downward pressure be applied to the cap to flex the resilient tabs on the mentioned edge of the draincock. Thus, after the flanges are seated in the slots, a certain amount of pressure (dependent upon the angle at-which the tabs extend from the end wall) is placed upon the flanges or latch means via the fingers whereupon the grasp of the fingers upon the underside of the valve slots is considerably increased. In fact, such a construction has been found to retain the valve cap in position even with large quantities of water passing through the drain valve and pushing against the end wall of the cap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1 there is shown a drain valve 10 releasably secured to the tubular drain member 12 of a hot water heater (not shown). The portion of the drain valve 10 with which this invention is concerned essentially includes a depending annular draincock l4, aperture 15 and outermost edges 14a defining aperture 15. Extending radially and outwardly from the base latch means transverse to the plane of the sidewalls. This lateral movement'is'necessary to-place the latch means or of draincock 14 is webbing 16 which can form an integral handle 18 for opening and closing drain valve 10.

Valve cap 22 has an end wall 24 adapted to cover aperture 15 of annular draincock l4. Integral with and extending transversely from end wall 24 is annular sidewall 26 which preferably terminates at the base portion of annular draincock 14. Also integral with and extending transversely from end wall 24 are fingers 28. The ends of fingers 28 opposite end wall 24 terminate in flanges 30 which extend upwardly and transversely from the plane of fingers 28 and are adapted to be I received within and grasp the underside of webbing l6 defining slots 20. In addition, one edge of webbing l6 defining the slots 20 may have a bead 21 upon which flanges 28 may be firmly held.

It is preferred to maintain fingers 28 within the plane of sidewall 26 in order to present a smooth, uniform outer valve cap surface which does not inherently suggest to the small child, for example, the means or manipulation necessary to remove the cap. Therefore, it is necessary that fingers 28 extend transversely from the covering plate 24 but lie within the plane of the cap body sidewall 26. In order to maintain such a spatial relationship, it is preferred to construct the sidewall 26 with circumferential notches at the desired locations of the fingers 28. These notches can be U-shaped as seen in FIG. 4 thereby forming a sidewall notch portion 26a with sides 26b, 26b. In addition, the notches should be of a greater circumferential length than the fingers to allow the fingers movement at generally right angles to the plane of sidewall 26. Movement of the fingers is necessary for insertion and removal of the cap placed in register with the slots in the webbing. Each flange of as will be discussed in full detail below.

The ends of the fingers 28 opposite the covering plate have integral upturned flanges 30 which serve as latch means. These flanges 30 are adapted to be releasably received in the slots 20 extending through the webbing 16 of drain valve which surrounds the draincock 14. Thus, the cap is secured to the drain valve by pressure being placed on the outer surface of each finger 28 (in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 1) which causes the fingers 28 and flanges 30 to be displaced inwardly of the cap body and thereby in register with the aforementioned slots 20. Upon insertion of flanges 30 in slots 20 the pressure is released and fingers 28 and flanges 30 naturally bias outwardly and firmly grasp the underside edge of webbing 16, which may, as discussed above, be beaded as at 21.

it should further be noted that unrestricted movement of fingers 28 would be possible by eliminating the sidewall notch 26a, 26b, 26b noted above entirely. However, it has been found that to provide a built-in safety feature to the valve cap of this invention it is highly desirable to place the sidewall notches 26a, 26b, 26b, around the circumference of the cap 22 at the position desired for each finger. This safety feature is attained by placement of pivots 32 integral with the inner surface of fingers 28 and the outermost surface of sidewall 26 or sidewall notch surface 26a. These pivots are placed at generally right angles to both the sidewall 26 and the fingers 28 and might be said to act as reverse fulcrums. That is, instead of using the pivots 32 as fulcrum points to facilitate actuation of the fingers 28, the fulcrum points are located away from flanges 30 and at generally right angles to the fingers 28 to impede accidental release of the safety cap. This construction has a two-fold safety effect: 1) the fulcrum points (pivots 32) are located away from the middle of the fingers 28, where the average person would squeeze; and (2) the fulcrum points (pivots 32) in their position near the end wall require an amount of force for actuation of fingers 28 and flanges 30 greater than generally possessed by a small child. Thus, chances of accidental or inadvertent release of the valve cap by a youngster or inexperienced adult are greatly reduced. In addition, pivots 32 serve not only as fulcrum points for pivoting fingers 28 but also as spanners which position fingers 28 at the correct angle for proper alignment in slots 20.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the inner surface of end wall 24 has resilient tabs 34 circumferentially and concentrically spaced thereon. These tabs 34 are integral with, extend transversely from and are positioned on end wall 24 so that upon placement of the valve cap 22 on drain valve 10 they contact edge 14a of draincock 14. Therefore, to place valve cap 22 on the drain valve, it is necessary to exert a certain amount of pressure to resiliently bias tabs 34 against edge 14a of draincock 14 to enable flanges 30 to be properly seated in slots 20. Thus, when valve cap 22 is in position on drain valve 10, tabs 34 function to maintain a predetermined stress or tension on fingers l8 and flanges 30 to securely retain same. The amount of stress imposed on tabs 34 may be varied by increasing or decreasing the angle at which tabs 34 extend from end wall 24. it is preferred that tabs 34 extend from end wall 24 at a 45 angle; however, it is understood that a 60 angle, for example, or a 30 angle, for example, would increase, respectively, the amount of pressure required to flex tabs 34 and therefore the amount of stress or tension placed on flanges 30.

it has been found desirable to construct the entire valve cap 22 as taught by this invention of a resilient plastic material. Such a material allows the fingers 28 and tabs 34 the flexibility they require for proper operation yet maintains on overall rigid cap structure.

It can readily be seen that after valve cap 22 is secured to hot water heater drain valve 10 inadvertent or intentional opening of the valve 10 will not cause the contents thereof to be directed toward the person opening the valve. Water expelled through draincock aperture will contact end wall 24 and sidewall 26 and be deflected by same not toward the person opening the valve but in the direction of the heater itself. Intentional draining of the heater tank with valve cap 22 in place on the drain valve 10 will cause the draining to last somewhat longer than if the valve cap 22 were removed. Thus, depending upon the users requirements or prerogative, the draining operation may be effected with drain valve 10 open and valve cap 22 in place thereon or with cap 22 removed before the draining operation. A removal operation of cap 22 is, of course, the same as the insertion procedure with the exception that flanges 30 are pulled out of, not into,slots 20.

For ease of description, the principles of the invention have been set forth in connection with but a' single illustrated embodiment showing my valve cap. it is not my intention that the illustrated embodiment nor the terminology employed in describing it be limiting inasmuch as variations in these may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Rather, I desire to be restricted only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A valve cap for releasably covering the outlet port of a drain valve comprising:

a cup-shaped body having an end wall;

a sidewall means extending transversely from said end wall;

at least two resilient spaced apart fingers integral with and extending transversely from said end wall;

latch means integral with said fingers at the ends of said fingers opposite said end wall;

said fingers having intermediate their length pivotal means whereby said fingers and latch means are capable of movement transverse to and independent from said end wall and said sidewall;

said latch means thereby being adapted to be releasably secured to said drain valve by said fingers being releasably received by and outwardly based against the drain valve.

2. The valve cap of claim 1 wherein;

said end wall has an outer and inner surface;

said inner surface of said end wall having a plurality of spaced apart resilient tabs extending transversely from said inner surface and concentrically situated about said inner surface;

the positioning of said tabs being such that when said cap is placed on said drain valve the exterior portion of a draincock on said drain valve contacts said tabs when said latch means are secured to said drain valve whereby said tabs are caused to flex and maintain stress on said latch means and thereby aid in keeping said latch means tightly secured to said drain valve.

3. The valve cap of claim 2 in combination with a drain valve;

said drain valve having an annular outlet port defining an aperture at the exterior end thereof;

said aperture communicating with valve opening and closing means in said valve;

webbing extending radially and laterally from said draincock;

said webbing having a plurality of slots extending therethrough',

said slots capable of releasably receiving said latch means of said fingers to thereby releasably secure said valve cap to said drain valve.

4. The valve cap of claim 3 wherein;

said pivotal means are substantially rigid generally rectangular members integral with the outermost portion of said sidewall and the innermost portion of said fingers.

5. The valve cap of claim 4 wherein;

said pivotal means are positioned at generally right angles to said fingers and said sidewalls and are positioned between said end wall and the longitudinal midsection of said fingers. 6. The valve cap of claim 5 wherein; said sidewall has at least two generally U-shaped notches in its outer perimeter at the location of each of said fingers;

said pivotal means being attached to the innermost portion of the perimeter of said notched sidewall and the innermost portion of said finger thereby maintaining said fingers within the plane of said sidewall. 

1. A valve cap for releasably covering the outlet port of a drain valve comprising: a cup-shaped body having an end wall; a sidewall means extending transversely from said end wall; at least two resilient spaced apart fingers integral with and extending transversely from said end wall; latch means integral with said fingers at the ends of said fingers opposite said end wall; said fingers having intermediate their length pivotal means whereby said fingers and latch means are capable of movement transverse to and independent from said end wall and said sidewall; said latch means thereby being adapted to be releasably secured to said drain valve by said fingers being releasably received by and outwardly based against the drain valve.
 2. The valve cap of claim 1 wherein; said end wall has an outer and inner surface; said inner surface of said end wall having a plurality of spaced apart resilient tabs extending transversely from said inner surface and concentrically situated about said inner surface; the positioning of said tabs being such that when said cap is placed on said drain valve the exterior portion of a draincock on said drain valve contacts said tabs when said latch means are secured to said drain valve whereby said tabs are caused to flex and maintain stress on said latch means and thereby aid in keeping said latch means tightly secured to said drain valve.
 3. The valve cap of claim 2 in combination with a drain valve; said drain valve having an annular outlet port defining an aperture at the exterior end thereof; said aperture communicating with valve opening and closing means in said valve; webbing extending radially and laterally from said draincock; said wEbbing having a plurality of slots extending therethrough; said slots capable of releasably receiving said latch means of said fingers to thereby releasably secure said valve cap to said drain valve.
 4. The valve cap of claim 3 wherein; said pivotal means are substantially rigid generally rectangular members integral with the outermost portion of said sidewall and the innermost portion of said fingers.
 5. The valve cap of claim 4 wherein; said pivotal means are positioned at generally right angles to said fingers and said sidewalls and are positioned between said end wall and the longitudinal midsection of said fingers.
 6. The valve cap of claim 5 wherein; said sidewall has at least two generally U-shaped notches in its outer perimeter at the location of each of said fingers; said pivotal means being attached to the innermost portion of the perimeter of said notched sidewall and the innermost portion of said finger thereby maintaining said fingers within the plane of said sidewall. 